The distinction was important for Poteet because UM Carey would not send him a letter of good standing he needed as part of his application to the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan.

In his lawsuit, Poteet, then a first-year student, claims he left the school after the fall 2007 semester and did not know he was automatically enrolled for the spring 2008 semester. He did not attend any classes that semester and was dismissed from the law school.

A university spokesman said last month that all first-year students are assigned classes because the courses are required and that students are required to submit their intention to withdraw in writing, which Poteet’s complaint does not say he did.

But perhaps more damaging to Poteet’s lawsuit is that he allegedly paid in full the tuition and fees owed for the spring 2008 semester, according to a motion to dismiss filed by the university last week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Poteet paid a total of $10,367.50 on July 7, 2008, two months after the semester ended, according to the university’s motion.

“A reasonable person would have inquired about the $10,367.50 bill for the Spring 2008 semester if he believed the bill had been assessed in error,” the motion states.

The university also claims Poteet’s father signed for a letter sent via certified mail from the university in June 2008 that Gregory Poteet had been “academically dismissed” from the law school.